Three killed in railway station wall collapse
Three killed in railway station wall collapse
JAKARTA (JP): A baby girl and two women died when an old concrete wall at the Senen railway station in Central Jakarta collapsed yesterday afternoon. Six other people were seriously injured
The six-month-old baby was identified as Citra Utami while the other two fatalities were named as Sumiati, 50, and Susan Apriatin, 20. They were all residents of the nearby Bungur Besar area.
Eyewitnesses said the accident took place at around 4:30 p.m. when the wall, which is 30 meters long and three meters high, suddenly collapsed and hit the people, who were sitting under it.
The six injured people are being treated at the nearby Cempaka Putih Islamic hospital. Their injuries include broken arms and legs.
They were identified as Dewi Setiawati, 20, Mudofir, 40, Sukaraning, 24, Hartati, 9, Sunarto, 36 and David, 33.
Late last night, the local police, led by Central Jakarta Police Chief Lt. Col. SY Wenas were still at the site collecting information and calming relatives and neighbors of the victims.
"We're still gathering as much information as possible to find out the real cause of the collapse," Wenas told The Jakarta Post.
According to City Police Spokesman Lt. Col. Iman Haryatna, the boundary wall is believed to be part of the old building of the railway station.
"So far, we're not sure whether there's a construction project on the site," Iman said.
At the scene, police found construction materials, including sand and soil.
"Based on preliminary police investigations, a number of local people were sitting, taking a rest, near the concrete wall when it suddenly collapsed and fell on them," Iman said.
The inter-city Senen railway station, operated by the state- owned railway company PT Perumka, serves passengers traveling in economy class.
According to spokesman Iman, the case will be referred to officers at the Construction and Development unit of the National Police Headquarters today for further investigation. (bsr)